Larriera's dilemma: should he save himself for the finals or risk everything in Cusco?

• With luxury attendance: Manco debuted in the victory of Ecosem Pasco in the Copa Peru

The last bullet

At the moment, Alianza Lima is in third place in the Clausura Tournament with 34 points, behind Universitario de Deportes (36) and FBC Melgar (35), and ahead of Sporting Cristal (33); therefore, in order to win the Clausura Tournament and be automatically crowned champion for the third time, they need to win against Deportivo Garcilaso, for the 'cremas' to lose against Sport Huancayo at Monumental Stadium, and for the 'rojinegros' to tie or lose against Binacional in Juliaca.

While the chances are remote, mathematically it is possible and only for that reason, Mauricio Larriera should field his trusted men and regular starters to play the last card against Deportivo Garcilaso. Since the matches are simultaneous, not calling up the regular starters for the game in Cusco could be an invaluable missed opportunity in case their rivals play in their favor.

Likewise, since it is a place that requires physical effort due to the altitude, it would be most convenient to start with the starting lineup that has been playing in the Clausura Tournament and, according to how the contexts in the other stadiums develop, assess whether or not to substitute them, "save legs", and avoid risking them to injuries for the eventual finals that would be played in the first week of November. This decision would be more accurate than the option of leaving them in Lima or not starting with them and considering the last latent hope for the 'intimos' as lost.

Key absences

However, there is one particular name that should be taken care of for the match against Deportivo Garcilaso and that most likely will not start: Jesús Castillo. The starting midfielder and key player in Mauricio Larriera's team is one yellow card away from suspension. In other words, if he receives a yellow card in the match against Deportivo Garcilaso, he would miss the first potential final due to accumulated cautions, as according to the regulations of the Liga 1 Betsson 2023, this suspension applies for the playoffs.

Also, a forced change in Larriera's defense is the right back Gino Peruzzi after being suspended due to yellow cards in the match against ADT. Thus, his natural replacement is Edinson Chávez; however, the player has not enjoyed continuity even when Peruzzi had an extended period of injury. As a reminder, other variants used in the position were Aldair Rodríguez, Yordi Vílchez, or Franco Zanelatto.

However, Zanelatto and Zambrano continue their recovery from their respective muscle strains and are almost ruled out for the match on Sunday, and the team, regardless of whether or not they are thinking about the finals, will not be able to count on the starting lineup due to these three significant absences. Although with the good news that Pablo Sabbag, who has already been medically cleared, can be called up against Deportivo Garcilaso and that implies being an option to replace Hernán Barcos position by position, ideally during the second half of the match if Larriera chooses to start him.

In this sense, the lineup that the Uruguayan strategist could have for this Sunday, thinking about winning the match and playing his last card, would be with Campos; Chávez, Míguez, Vílchez, Lagos; Ballón, Concha, Cueva; Rodríguez, Reyna, and Barcos. They began training this week and it will be decided whether they will finally choose not to hold anything back or field regular substitutes.

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